ANAHEIM — Lost among the many issues affecting the struggling Ducks these days is this one — what has happened to Brandon McMillan?

As a rookie, McMillan proved to be a valuable and versatile performer for a playoff-bound club while also chipping in some offense with 11 goals and 10 assists in 60 games after a short stint in the minor leagues.

But as he heads into a game Wednesday night against the Kings at Staples Center, McMillan is among the many young Ducks forwards that have struggled to find their game. He has no goals, three assists, a minus-6 rating and his ice time is down nearly three minutes on average from a year ago.

With veteran winger Niklas Hagman joining the lineup after his visa issues are cleared up and center Ben Maxwell worked into the mix, McMillan appeared to be put on notice by Ducks coach Randy Carlyle after the morning skate.

Carlyle said he plans to move McMillan from left wing to center and called him “a player that we’re trying to find a way to get to a higher level.”

“He was a good utility young player for us last year and we’re having trouble finding him and getting him going to the right level that’s required,” Carlyle said. “I don’t see the desperation that’s necessary. … I think he can play harder and be more involved in the game.”

McMillan was the picture on confidence when talking about how close he is to where he wants to be.

“I think my game’s coming around,” he said. “I just have to keep working hard and getting chances. It’s just not working out right now for whatever reason. You’ve just got to keep working hard.”

The Ducks have received scant offense from anyone beyond the top two lines. McMillan said there is a big difference when one is able to put that disk of vulcanized rubber over the red line.

“It’s huge,” McMillan said. “People say it’s just that little thing [to score] but it’s a huge confidence boost for you. I’m just going to keep playing and keep working. If I don’t score, I don’t score. But I’m going to be playing as hard as I can and just helping the team any way I can.”

— The Ducks continued to shake up their mix by recalling winger Jean-Francois Jacques and defenseman Nate Guenin on Tuesday from Syracuse of the American Hockey League and assigning center Nick Bonino back to the Crunch on Wednesday.

Jacques has played well in his short time in Syracuse and could find his way into the lineup against the Kings if Carlyle desires to put some more beef on the fourth line. With George Parros out due to a torn retina, the Ducks have largely gone with the undersized Matt Beleskey, Maxime Macenauer and Andrew Gordon.

Carlyle alluded to Jacques’ physical play as a reason why he was called up over Dan Sexton, whose offensive play has surged of late with the Crunch.

“A little more size, a little more physicality versus a guy like Sexton, who’s scored a bunch of goals and what not. Right now Jacques’s been as good a player and Sexton had a tremendous weekened the weekend ago. He got nine points then.

“It’s hard to overlook that. But the size issue and playing a big team like L.A., those are always things that are going to be under consideration. [Management] just felt Jacques was the best fit. That’s the decision that was made.”

Bonino played in only one game — a 5-4 overtime loss to Washington on Nov. 1 — and hurt his knee during that contest after being called up for the first time this season. He has spent the last two weeks rehabilitating and getting back into position to play again.

“It’s tough for Nick,” Carlyle said. “He played one game and hurt his knee. We just felt at this time, we’ve got the bodies here.”

— Maxwell was picked up by the Ducks off waivers Thursday but finally joined his team six days later. The former Winnipeg center has his need for work visa delayed because of the Remembrance Day holiday in Canada on Friday and many government offices were closed on the weekend.

“It’s been tough to wait that long,” Maxwell said. “But it’s good to be down here. Hoepfully I can start contributing.”

Maxwell was still shaking hands with teammates and other club personnel before he had to get to the team’s daily meeting. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound forward is trying to latch on with the Ducks after bouncing between Montreal and Atlanta last season along with their respective AHL teams before playing with Winnipeg for four games.

“You never really expect that kind of stuff to happen,” Maxwell said, referring to being cut loose by the Jets. “This is my fourth organization in almost less han a year now. So it’s been an interesting year. I’m looking to stick around somewhere and I’m hoping that’s here.”

— Bobby Ryan is expected to play after missing practice Tuesday due to flu-like symptoms. Dan Ellis is available to back up Jonas Hiller tonight and could get the nod for Thursday’s return date with the Kings at Honda Center after leaving practice to nurse a slight groin pull.

— Here are the likely line combinations and defense pairings for tonight against the Kings:

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